Namgoong Min | News

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify"2017/09/23,
At times it feels like Korean drama has an endless supply of Evil Rich Guy™ characters doing horrible things to brooding male heroes in the revenge genre. It would be unfair to dismiss a work like "Falsify" due to its premise and its proximity to such stories alone, however. Armed with a great cast and a quartet of interesting characters, the drama has a lot to say,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 31-32 Final2017/09/13,
It has been a long journey for our heroes and their friends, but this is the end of the path they have chosen and the time has come for punishments to reign supreme in "Falsify". Another secret ally is revealed and several lives end, but the series maintains its usual realistic approach when contemplating the troubles of the world. This means that our heroes will always have more work ahead,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 29-302017/09/12,
All things come to an end and this thankfully includes bad things. It is time for our heroes of "Falsify" to get some justice on behalf of those wronged and the already shaky team of villains is starting to lose its members. With the name of an elder being discovered and important decisions being made by pivotal characters, everything is ready for the finale, be it grand or realistic,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 27-282017/09/06,
With only a few episodes to go, "Falsify" enters the final stretch in our heroes' quest for the truth behind their enemies. The villains' plans are still elusive, but their choice of terrorism is revealed. While So-ra and Seok-min brave through their lack of power, Moo-yeong targets Nam Kang-myeong. The not-so-resurrected man has a strong connection to Tae-won, however and the latter has his own plans,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 25-262017/09/04,
There is no easy way out of the hole our heroes have dug themselves into, but they have no time for self-pity. Nam Kang-myeong is out there and Team Good needs to get him while handling the plethora of enemies actively and viciously working against them. It took a long time for all of our heroes to come together, but they are now stronger than ever,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 23-242017/08/30,
The realization of their mistakes hits our Team Good like a ton of bricks and the situation gets out of control. Everyone's fingers are pointed at them, while the ghost they have been chasing takes on a very interesting form. The plans of the Elders are revealed as far more sinister than we could have imagined and Tae-won falters,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 21-222017/08/29,
Our trio of justice gets closer and closer to Nam Kang-myeong, but it is a dangerous approach suspiciously approved and even encouraged by our villains. Tae-won gains the upper hand in his arrangements once more and his plans target our Team Good in a swift and ruthless manner, which the plot sadly employs a problematic approach to achieve,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 19-202017/08/22,
Plans change and allegiances crumble as Tae-won finds himself cornered by heroes and villains alike. The man begins a mysterious game as our Team Good tries to make sense of what is going on and find more allies after So-ra's attack. A major breakthrough happens when a helpful hand from the past points Seok-min to the right direction, but Moo-yeong's involvement and personal goals may become a problem,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 17-182017/08/22,
Heroes and villains alike are starting to get bolder with their decisions in "Falsify". Moo-yeong finally learns of a painful truth necessary for moving forward and So-ra has a close call when she pushes the villains' buttons a bit too hard. Tae-won is feeling the heat as well, reminding us that no pawn is above betrayal from their masters,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 15-162017/08/16,
There are oodles of justice and great conflict delivered in episodes fifteen and sixteen of "Falsify", as Seok-min and Moo-yeong's master plan falls into place for a killer showdown. Seong-sik makes his decision, Daehan takes its first major hit and So-ra finally gains Moo-yeong's trust as a fellow warrior in this battle, along with another chance to clear a young man's name,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 13-142017/08/15,
Our hero never learns and his latest drastic measures are met with a swift and ruthless response from our villains. The series reveals a new side of Tae-won, the villain we know best, but I am worried about what this revelation entails. Seok-min and So-ra have a lot of work ahead, but someone's long awaited return may help,...More

Jin A-reum, "My boyfriend Namgoong Min fulfills me"2017/08/09, Source,
Model Jin A-reum debuted through Seoul Collection in 2008 and has modeled for various domestic designers as well as ELLE, BAZAAR, W and other major magazines.
She was the perfect subject for photography as she stood in front of the camera prior to our interview. She moved freely according to the shutter sound of the camera and expressed exactly what she wanted to do,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 11-122017/08/08,
Team Good is finally on the same page and although they do not have group meetings yet, their joint investigation leads them back to familiar faces, some of which are too close for comfort. Seok-min continues his backstabbing tango with Tae-won and the latter is busy trying to turn the narrative against Aeguk with the help of his Noah lawyer accomplice,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 9-102017/08/07,
For all their sense of righteousness our three heroes spent a long time in denial about their capabilities and past mistakes, but the good thing about being in a group is that you always have others keeping you in check. Moo-yeong, Seok-min and So-ra have some much needed reunions and sharing of information when Seon-woo's case takes a regretful turn for the worse,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 7-82017/08/01,
There are not enough closets for all the skeletons Noah Law Firm has been keeping and the latest case involves a living victim whose life is in the hands of Moo-yeong and Aeguk. Our heroes are about to get a proper taste of what fighting for others entails when those with significant power wield it against you. The question is, when will our heroes reach out to one another,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 5-62017/07/31,
Moo-yeong is proven right in his worry over Daehan's dedication to the truth and So-ra is furious, albeit no longer surprised about the prosecution's manipulation. Moo-yeong makes his move and stages a special trial for Park Eung-mo, but its grim ending shakes things up for our leads. This commotion sparks some reunions which not everyone is ready for, but which need to happen,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 3-42017/07/26,
A few disappointments, betrayals and downfalls later, the leads of "Falsify" find themselves down on their luck and right back where things started, as the case of Park Eung-mo brings them closer to the people behind him. Goo Tae-won is enjoying his position of power and our heroes are still naive in many ways, but the foundations under the powerful criminals are beginning to shake,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Falsify" Episodes 1-22017/07/25, "Falsify" opens with several grim reminders that all are not, in fact, equal before the law and that what we know as the truth is only the most well-backed version of it. We are introduced to Han Moo-yeong, a rogue journalist who is trying to infiltrate the underworld in search of someone special. Rewind to five years ago, and we see how things got to this point,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Preview] "Falsify"2017/07/22,
The time has come to once again tap into our unlimited reserves of hate for the corrupt rich as "Falsify" brings more revenge on the Korean drama table. This time around the struggle involves the world of journalism; a welcome twist to the usual business- and law-related takes. Let me guide you through my current thoughts.
Premise
Han Moo-yeong (Namgoong Min) is a reporter who uses his own methods in order to reveal the truth about the death of a loved one. When the law no longer supports justice and the press hides the truth, the only measures that work exist outside of the norm,...More

Actor Namgoong Min Says He's Still Learning His Craft2017/04/25, Source,
In the TV series "Chief Kim", which wrapped up recently, actor Namgoong Min's character was a hero to office workers everywhere. He rebuked his bosses when their performance was poor and fought against corruption within his company.
The comedy's central figure, played by Namgoong Min, is an accountant hired as a manager of a conglomerate's finance department. He is a genius at accounting fraud and tax evasion but ends up inadvertently bringing the company to justice,...More

[Orion's Drama News] Closing the Investigation2017/04/22,
Park your life woes at the door and let them think about what they did, because today I talk drama production problems and the sad cancellation of "Housewife Detective". Fret not, however, as the usual and much happier news of image and video goodies as well as casting announcements are here just like every week,...More

[HanCinema's Film Review] "Part-Time Spy"2017/04/01,
Yeong-sil (played by Kang Ye-won) is a loser. She's in her mid-thirties yet has spent almost her entire adult life working weird part-time jobs in the desperate hope of being called up for a real interview for a full-time position one of these days. And once Yeong-sil finally manages to get oh-so-perilously close to success...she's forced to work overtime to take down a voice phishing scam, when this is obviously not in her job description. On the flip side, Jeong-an (played by Han Chae-ah) is a cop- and taking down voice phishing scams is in her job description,...More

[Interview] "Part-Time Spy" Kang Ye-won, "Namgoong Min was nice"2017/03/21, Source,
The country has 6.44 million temporary workers. They have Nowhere to Turn to even if they get discharged overnight. The government released a system of elementary school sports instructors in 2008 but most schools only employ them for 11 months. This is part of a scheme to avoid paying pension which becomes true if the position is filled for 12 months.
In 2012, 2014 and 2016 released a law forbidding the 'breaking down of contract' but it didn't work. It's spring but it's still winter for those without real jobs,...More

"Chief Kim" Namgoong Min wearing cheesy outfit on his bike 2017/01/04, Source, Namgoong Min was spotted riding around Gunsan in outdated clothes.
He is starring in the upcoming KBS 2TV drama "Chief Kim" as Mr. Kim, also known as Kim Seong-ryong. Kim Seong-ryong has a natural instinct for money and is a gifted speaker. He used to manage gangsters' money but quits and joins TQ Group for even bigger success. However, ironically, he finds himself fighting against injustice and saving the company that is failing,...More

[Orion's Drama News] Year End Ramblings2016/12/31,
Happy New Year everyone! May your dramas be enjoyable and their ratings kind. This is a slow news week, as you can imagine, but I do have a couple of interesting things to discuss and show you. I talk about pre-production woes and make you mourn over Namgoong Min's hair. Grab a beverage, get cozy and join me in this last piece for the year,...More

[Funcurve Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim"2016/09/24, "Beautiful Gong Shim" is a refreshing romantic comedy that flew under my radar this summer where I had little reason to believe that it would stand out among the sea of rom-coms in Kdrama world. Much to my surprise, the drama was cute, quirky, and fun. It wasn't what I was expecting in a good way and I'm glad I watched it for the sake of having to review it. "Beautiful Gong Shim" has a simple story focusing on Gong Shim (Minah), an average girl who's been neglected by her family in favor of,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Doctors" Episode 172016/08/15,
Right away we get a reasonably full and clear explanation of just what happened to Hye-jeong's grandmother in surgery so long ago. The outcome of this scene left me a little confused. The surgical team screwed up. That much has never been in doubt. But they reacted poorly in the face of an unanticipated situation. While such failures are bad, they're also fairly inevitable. Doctors are only human after all. This is something Hye-jeong herself knows all too well, what with being put under disciplinary review for having committed a different kind of error,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Doctors" Episode 162016/08/09,
Upon further reflection the various spotlighted patients do in fact have some relation to the personal stories of the main doctors in "Doctors". It's just hard to tell because the timing is always so disjointed, and the doctors don't show any indication that the patients' stories have relevance to their own lives until pretty much the last possible minute. I was with Hye-jeong when Ji-hong was making the big announcement. Sure, I can appreciate the thought, but from Hye-jeong's perspective it really did come out of nowhere,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Doctors" Episode 152016/08/08,
I was caught off guard this episode by the almost complete lack of discussion of Hye-jeong's parental issues. Considering the big cliffhanger last time that seemed like the main obvious direction for "Doctors" to go. But alas, even Namgoong Min doesn't get much of a sendoff. His whole conflict is solved offhandedly with Ji-hong's political powers, there's thanks and farewells, and then it's back to the usual lack of plot that so often characterizes "Doctors",...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Doctors" Episode 142016/08/02,
Min-ho (played by Jung Hae-kyun) is Hye-jeong's estranged father. I've never had much cause to discuss Min-ho because it's never been clear to me how important he was to Hye-jeong's story. It kind of seemed like Min-ho was just another obstacle Hye-jeong had to overcome, even though he has sympathetic character traits. Seo-woo, you may recall, has the same problem. Well, both the opening and the closing of this episode directly address the relevance of Min-ho's presence/absence in Hye-jeong's life- to powerful cathartic effect,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim"2016/07/30,
Finding a romantic comedy drama has felt like an impossible task for some time, but perhaps creators are remembering that "comedy" is included in the genre description. At least the creators of "Beautiful Gong Shim" are, because the series is good ol' romantic fluff. While it carries a lot of the cliches and problems found in said fluff, it also carries many of its appealing qualities,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 182016/07/12,
After far too long, Dan-tae and Joon-soo have finally joined hands as they have always been meant to do. Their short stint at enemies was contrived and ineffective. Their brotherhood is much more powerful when it is in full bloom and in the light of cooperation and friendship. Writer Lee Hee-myeong's strength is found in the sweet, kind, and/or funny interactions between characters. Where that strength wanes is in conflict. Part of the issue centers around the fact that Joon-soo's uncle is, as I've said before, an impotent villain,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 172016/07/10, "Beautiful Gong Shim" has all the right trappings to be a great drama, but it manages to lose steam in every aspect but the romance between Gong Shim and Dan-tae, which is sweet and winning. Dan-tae has uncovered a huge truth, but his methods have been driven by rage and pain. Joon-soo has uncovered the same truth, but reacted by escaping. The two cousins, once close because of their mutual kindness and enjoyable differences, are now drawn apart by their family drama. This show seems to be trying to pull them back together, but not without wrenching them apart in rather ridiculous ways first,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 162016/07/03,
The truth is stuck and it won't come out. Misunderstandings fuel all plot movement and its more than mildly infuriating. It's an attempt to pit Joon-soo and Dan-tae against each other when both men are really much too intelligent to let the mechanizations of the not-so-bright uncle tear them apart. Although emotionally driven, Dan-tae is a lawyer and should be able to figure out the truth. He probably will, but the show chooses to let misunderstandings linger and fester. Joon-soo's uncle sees Joon-soo with Dan-tae and purposefully tries to wrench the cousins apart,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 152016/07/03, "Beautiful Gong Shim" is a blend of zesty chemistry between the leads and and deadweight mystery. Gong Shim and Dan-tae are refreshing together in their honesty and unconditional love. The mystery is so clunky and the villains are so ineffective that the plot lacks genuine intrigue. Joon-soo's uncle is at the core of the kidnapping case, but the man is such an ineffective villain that drawing out the kidnapping case any longer would be stretching the plot beyond thin,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 142016/06/28,
The conflict in "Beautiful Gong Shim" is quite contrived. Circumstances are such that the show should have a constant thread of tension weaving in and out of scenes and character development, but the tension flags and wanes on such a regular basis that it is no longer compelling. The main source of this tension, or the lack of it, is Dan-tae's childhood kidnapping and the family members involved,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 132016/06/27,
This episode answered many of the questions I have been posing, but in strange bursts of emotional exposition and flashbacks. Rather than work linearly, the show has chosen to reveal answers as strangely placed afterthoughts. This plot structure isn't the problem; it's the fact that the use of it made a lot of character behavior for the past two episodes completely baffling. Dan-tae has revealed himself to his grandmother, which explains his distinct lack of emotional response to finding his long lost family after he discovered his identity,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 122016/06/20,
As tensions at the company escalate in tandem with Dan-tae's executive pin investigation, his eyes of suspicion include his bromantic buddy, Joon-soo. No one is safe as Dan-tae delves to the bottom of his kidnapping and into his father's attack, including Dan-tae himself. He is so reckless in regards to the emotional well-being of those around him that it's a good thing Gong Shim has decided to stick to him like glue. The course of events in the show is predictable and only balanced by the significant character strides made by Gong Shim,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 112016/06/18,
As Dan-tae takes off down the road of the weary, weighed down by his birth secret and the complications associated with it, Gong Shim becomes the breath of fresh air that he once was. Her blossoming love for Dan-tae, the man who never judged her and saw her as she was is allowing her to do the same for him. Unfortunately, he feels he's not in the place to accept her feelings and thus begins the angst. The episode focuses on Dan-tae's mission to discover who was at the scene of his father's attack and while his dogged pursuit is admirable, the circumstances in which he finds himself are utterly comical rather than full of the gravity they should be,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 92016/06/12,
This was Dan-tae's episode as he explored the murky waters of his past. Although a little on the slow side, the episode allowed for Dan-tae to naturally flow through a hefty emotional cycle. It also gave Gong Shim ample opportunity to realize her affections for Dan-tae and to shower him with them. At this point I expect for the chaebol trappings to be fitted to Dan-tae and hamper his signature slovenly style,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 102016/06/12,
As Dan-tae tackles the deception that shrouds his kidnapping twenty-six years ago, we are treated to a B-rated detective mystery. The story is crafted around isolated events and the intrigue is instigated by the less-than-thrilling mechanizations of Joon-soo's uncle and his mother. Luckily, the chemistry between Dan-tae and Gong Shim is fiery and their scenes are adorable.
Dan-tae may be an awkward, slovenly fellow, but part of that act is a facade,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 82016/06/05, "Beautiful Gong Shim" is about finding the truth in this episode. The truth about the past; the revelation of truth; discovering the truth about oneself. The show doesn't do anything revolutionary, but there are some great moments that keep it moving forward and from being totally predictable. Gong Mi has predictably begun to be trapped by her own web of lies,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 72016/06/04,
Despite the fact that "Beautiful Gong Shim" has a lot of the extra baggage found in most K-dramas, it's still one of the cutest shows I've seen in a long time. The main couple is so endearing in their interactions that it's easy to forget the extra malarky that surrounds them. This has everything to do with the writing, the chemistry between Namgoong Min and Minah, and both actors' knacks for delivering emotionally intense scenes. The typical K-drama setup where the evil mom interferes almost had me fuming out of my ears,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 52016/05/29,
Episode 5 of "Beautiful Gong Shim" was all about Dan-tae and his massive crush on Gong Shim. A crush is nothing new, but his awkward, childlike crush and the uniqueness of Dan-tae as a person is what makes his endearingly sweet and great drama material. It counterbalances the usual dose of chaebol backstories, family strife, and evil unnis. Speaking of evil unnis, Gong Mi gets a little taste of karma as she is framed and forced to resign,...More

[HanCinema's Drama First Look] "Beautiful Gong Shim"2016/05/28,
If you are feeling empty on the romantic comedy front, look no further, as "Beautiful Gong Shim" is here to provide all the things we love about them. Of course this means it includes a lot of the things that are problematic for less tolerant of certain frustrating cliches viewers, but this is not breaking news when it comes to dramas or romantic comedy.
"Beautiful Gong Shim" is not fresh in many ways. The character of Ahn Dan-tae (Namgoong Min) is not officially a jerk chaebol heir, but,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 42016/05/22,
There is a clear break between what is good and what is not so good in "Beautiful Gong Shim". What is good is so delightfully strong in content and execution while what is bad is draggy and dull. Any scene with Namgoong Min is fantastic. Family affairs are bogging the drama down and there may be more of it to come as families begin to interfere with more aspects of the plot. Dan-tae's grandmother is a wreck of a woman,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 32016/05/21, "Beautiful Gong Shim" just keeps getting better. Yes, there are the usual doses of selfish rich folk, conniving siblings, and sad backstories, but the balance between them and the hearty stories behind our leads is pitch perfect. And we finally get to dig into Gong Shim as more than just a woman to be pitied. She is so rich after this episode, and her interactions with quirky, tender-hearted Dan-tae are absolutely winning. We learn that Gong Shim has been neglected her whole life, as we suspected, in favor of her beautiful, smart, well-employed older sister,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 12016/05/14,
SBS's new Saturday/Sunday twenty-episode drama "Beautiful Gong Shim" was much more than its lackluster promotion. It was zippy, fun, and put two unique characters at the helm, Gong Shim (Minah) and Ahn Dae-tae (Namgoong Min). I have to say that I hope neither of them change much, save maybe to fall in love with each other. It's rare to find such refreshingly frank and straightforward characters on Korean television. Gong Shim is the "ugly" younger sister,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Preview] "Beautiful Gong Shim"2016/05/07,
Finding a romantic comedy drama that does not go majorly dark and depressing or then lose its coherence completely is hard. "Beautiful Gong Shim" promises a return to the good ol' days, where people trying to hook up with people happily was possible without major physical and emotional scarring. There is still a mean grandmother in the mix, but that is a rom-com staple in Korean drama,...More

[Orion's Drama News] Rom-coms, Psychos and Youth2016/04/30,
Have you been missing good ol' rom-coms, folks? You know, the kind where people do not cry for sixteen episodes and get some form of terminal illness. Well, let us see if those will be making a return and take a look at some recent drama trends while we are at it. More upcoming drama goodies are out, including some for new titles. Even less eventful weeks are full in Dramaland,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 20 Final2016/02/18,
There's two essential parts to the final episode of "Remember"- gratifying revenge and sadness. The sadness actually ends up coming from an unexpected angle, though. While Jin-woo's loss of memory is not glossed over or dismissed in any way, this material ends up being covered relatively shortly in the ending. Instead, we're left with grief at how everything managed to turn out so poorly, thus necessitating the elaborate revenge scheme,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 192016/02/17,
Gyoo-man is hard at work trying to alienate every possible character he can. I'm surprised that even the security guards are willing to put up with it anymore. Every scene we see them, those poor extras look massively uncomfortable. They don't even try to manhandle Gyoo-man's victims anymore, because he's gotten so public with the violent outbursts that odds are good they're going to show up on someone's cell phone camera too,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 182016/02/11,
Jin-woo's embarrassing moment of memory loss notwithstanding, it turns out there is in fact a crucial, subtle inconsistency in the black box video. I hadn't noticed it before, but then again I don't recall if we were ever actually shown the video in full context before either. Well, no matter. The point is that once Jin-woo gets reasonable doubt, he's able to get the gangsters to cooperate and from there it's one leg of the conspiracy down, with several left to go,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 172016/02/10,
In short order "Remember" tacks on a second trial to the first one. Which is a bit of a shame- I actually mostly like the rape storyline. The fact that it's taking a relatively long time to conclude doesn't even bother me so much because it makes sense for Gyoo-man's legal team to use delaying tactics. It takes time to manufacture evidence and bully witnesses into giving false testimony. What's more, this tactic has become increasingly ineffective since In-ah knows how they operate,...More

'Remember' actor Namgoong Min, how stylish he is in a suit2016/02/10, Source,
Actor Namgoong Min has revealed a behind-the-scenes image. On February 10th, posted a photo of himself on his personal Instagram with a hashtag #Promis.
In the revealed photo, Namgoong Min is dressed up in a sleek suit and waiting for his turn to film a scene. As he revealed his promise for viewership rating achievement, netizens showed reactions, "Where?", "I pray you you're your promise", "Come to Ulsan" and so on,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 162016/02/04,
Dong-ho, having finally quit his position as Gyoo-man's scumbag lawyer, finds some difficulty here in making amends and getting back on the right side. Personally I'm surprised anyone in Jin-woo's firm is willing to entertain the prospect of Dong-ho's helping at all. Yeah, we know that Dong-ho has meant well this whole time. But it's not like Jin-woo had any way of being aware of this save for the occasional oblique hint,...More

[Spoiler] 'Remember' Namgoong Min is released from jail
2016/02/04, Source,
On the 16th episode of SBS' Wednesday & Thursday drama, "Remember", Il-ho Group arranged things illicitly to allow Nam Gyoo-man (Namgoong Min) to be investigated without detention.
Nam Gyoo-man was arrested for rape and bodily harm in Song Hayeong's case. Although he received such special treatment to stay in a jail that didn't even feel like a jail, Nam Il-ho (Han Jin-hee) ordered, "It's not a good place for a human being. Take Gyu-man out from there",...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 152016/02/03,
Why does anyone ever cooperate with Gyoo-man on any task whatsoever? He doesn't even pretend to be friendly, the guy just barks orders out practically at random, and when he does reward loyalty there's always this thick veneer of condescension. Gyoo-man's family money is good, but it seems like there's only so much Gyoo-man a character can tolerate before deciding, you know, forget the money, I'd really much rather punch him in the face,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 142016/01/28,
Having moved very quickly through similar but mostly unrelated plot points the last several episodes, here "Remember" is forced into that most dreadful of contrivances- when a drama is forced to repeat its own moral conflicts to evade the fact that there's not much more plot to get through. Try taking a count of how many characters enter into discussions regarding the wisdom of current day decisions on the basis of backstory. It comes up a lot,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 132016/01/27,
At one point here the possibility is broached for an obviously adorable romantic scene between Jin-woo and In-ah. And the moment this possibility came up, I asked myself what was more likely- that we would actually get to see this adorably romantic scene, or that writer Yoon Hyeon-ho would once again find a way to end the episode the episode with borderline absurd melodrama? If you can't already guess the answer to that question, well, you probably have not been watching "Remember" up until now,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 122016/01/21,
Don't be fooled by the generally light overall tone of the episode. Sure, in the immediate sense it's all fun and games as Jin-woo's team celebrates their opening legal victory. There's even cute romance- an element that's been all too lacking since the early episodes, mainly because the revenge and melodrama have been hitting such a high point that there just hasn't been any space for it. But just round the corner there's always some new morbid plot twist,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 112016/01/20,
After taking a moment to remind us that Jin-woo is still grieving, "Remember" proceeds to demonstrate why Jae-hyeok's culpability as a convicted murderer actually creates as many problems as it solves for the villains. See, now that Jin-woo has no hope of saving his father, that means there's nothing stopping him from eliminating as many people on his list in the short term as possible. They were only ever useful to the extent they could exonerate Jae-hyeok. Now they're just enemies,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 102016/01/14,
While the story in "Remember" moves in a fairly predictable pattern, it's a pattern that changes and reorients itself so often that I'm constantly forgetting when the drama just did the exact same plot point practically a few minutes ago. Writer Yoon Hyeon-ho is without a doubt the master of distracting out-of-nowhere segues. Fainting? Never mind that there's legal adventures to be had! Witness intimidation? Wait, there's a gangster showdown at the junkyard! Look, more improbable courtroom theatrics! Melodrama! Witness intimidation again!,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 92016/01/13,
The cliffhanger from the last episode ends up being solved with surprisingly little urgency. Which is to be expected, given the obvious misstep on the part of the gangster. It's one thing to kill ordinary people while on the payroll of the vast corporate conspiracy. Going after an actual prosecutor though, that's, that's just a really bad idea. Even bribed officials have to go after those crimes seriously, lest every two bit hood with a piece of string starts to try and avoid legal troubles by murdering cops,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 82016/01/07,
Jin-woo's initial plan to deal with his trumped-up murder charge is to just blow through everything and expose the conspiracy in its entirity. This plan fails mostly because if it worked we wouldn't have any more story to go through. So contrivance after contrivance is the rule of the day here as "Remember" moves to its mostly preordained conclusion- figuring out who the actual murderer is in the short term so Jin-woo can start up again from scratch,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 72016/01/06,
Yeok-kyeong (played by Jung Hye-sung) is Gyoo-man's sister and I think she's the secondary love interest for Jin-woo although I'm not really sure. Yeok-kyeong is kind of a jerk, and yet there's no love lost between her and Gyoo-man. Yeok-kyeong clearly enjoys prodding him just as much as she does the heroes. As one of the few people Gyoo-man can't physically attack, Yeok-kyeong milks this advantage for all its worth. Soo-beom (played by Lee Si-eon) is Gyoo-man's gopher, and unfortunately enjoys no such immunity,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 62015/12/24,
When last we left off Jin-woo was impeaching the credibility of an alleged sexual assault victim by bringing up a past boyfriend...no, don't go, hard as it may be to imagine "Remember" does manage to deal with this subject matter tactfully. Mainly because the direction clearly indicates that the basic thrust of Jin-woo's argument is in fact fairly scummy. Even bearing in mind that the guy is probably innocent it's hard to imagine a woman willing to go this far out on the basis of sheer spite,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 52015/12/23,
Writer Yoon Hyeon-ho seems pretty committed to the melodrama angle. Jin-woo's first on-screen case is barely even a case at all, he just storms into the courtroom, makes his argument, and then there's a big dramatic tearful moment on the courthouse steps where good and evil and justice and heartlessness are contrasted with the reality of the legal system. That's not even getting to the very violent high-strung violin music, which hits its harshest point in the final scenes,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 42015/12/17,
With this episode "Remember" finishes the introductory phase of the story. We close out back in the present day, with our two leads now established as lawyers. Now that I've seen where "Remember" was going, I really wish the drama hadn't taken so much time with its backstory. I kept watching Jeon-hyeok's case expecting some kind of twist, but it never happened. We see in full detail here how the murder played out, and save for a weird blackout it's pretty much exactly what was originally implied back in the first episode,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 32015/12/16,
The first portion of this episode is spent going over plot points that have yet to actually be established, but of which we mostly know the substance. Of course there aren't going to be any meaningful obstacles to Dong-ho becoming Jae-hyeok's lawyer. Likewise, it's pretty obvious why Jae-hyeok signed a confession which we knew to be false. The confession isn't even consistent with the prosecution's own theory. They've already admitted that Jae-hyeok has memory problems, which is why he can't fill in missing details,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 22015/12/10,
Dong-ho (played by Park Sung-woong) is Jae-hyeok's attorney. Well, not yet anyway. That's the main exposition this episode is focusing on. How and why would an arrogant high-class lawyer with goofy sidekicks, comical fashion sense, a shameless self-promotional attitude, and a one hundred percent win rate take on Jae-hyeok's case, when it seems like Jae-hyeok is completely doomed from the outside?,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Remember" Episode 12015/12/09,
Jin-woo (played by Yoo Seung-ho) is a young man who has spent the better part of the last four years trying to prove his father Jae-hyeok (played by Jun Kwang-ryul) innocent of murder. Jae-hyeok doesn't remember having committed the murder. In fact, Jae-hyeok doesn't really remember much of anything. Ironically, Jin-woo remembers everything in perfect detail. And that's the basic hook for "Remember". It's a drama about remembering or not remembering things,...More

Actors with 'honey vocal cord' in their 20s/30s2015/09/14, Source,
'Honey vocal cord' as in sweet voice is an important charming appeal for actors to have.
Attractive voice highlights emotions in acting by delivering them more vividly and makes audience focus more on his acting. The young actors in his 20s and 30s with the sweet voice as well as the charming look are 'perfect guys',...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 16 - Final2015/05/21,
The Jae-hee storyline is finally, definitively resolved by the halfway point. As usual it's loaded with various improbabilities- the ambulance explanation which begs more questions than it does answers. The way the story quickly forgets its own epilogue which stated most of the characters aren't actually police officers anymore. And the fact that Jae-hee is foiled mostly because his superpower of predicting events perfectly has been turned off,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 152015/05/20,
And so Jae-hee is down for the count...or is he? Normally I make a point of how proper set-up is important for effective delivery. Here's the problem with this episode's cliffhanger though. The fact that it was obviously foreshadowed only served to make me dread the end of this episode, as well as the next one, because it means that once more "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is going to insist on doing its stupid invincible serial killer shtick right to the end, when Jae-hee is once again foiled less because his opponents are competent and more because the writer turns off Jae-hee's omniscience superpower,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 142015/05/14,
By the end of this episode the evidentiary problem regarding Jae-hee is finally resolved. Thank goodness. Jae-hee's improbable feats of invisibility are by far the worst part of this drama and this episode is no less frustrating in that department. How did he manage to get a full-sized unconscious woman outside of the mall without anyone noticing in the middle of the day? Did he have a secret garage? Of course, I might as well ask why Yeom-mi's brilliant plan was to let herself be caught. I figured she must have a GPS tracker or a weapon or something, because otherwise why not set up an actual trap?,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 132015/05/13,
Writer Lee Hee-myeong appears to have remembered that the title of the drama is "The Girl Who Sees Smells", so we finally get some more smell-seeing. The whole sequence feels like a flashback to the earlier parts of the drama- we have Cho-rim proving that she has the abilities, and then she solves a simple mystery with them. Which is nice, I guess, except that then it's right back to the same old serial killer antics where the smell-seeing abilities aren't used even though by the end there is a really, really obvious use for them,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 122015/05/07,
The cliffhanger last time and the cliffhanger this time are for the most part the exact same cliffhanger. "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is having difficulty justifying its running time at this point. Even under the most charitable interpretation by all rights Jae-hee really should have been caught by now. Moo-gak actually manages to catch Jae-hee committing an explicit crime- at the very least there should be probable cause for a warrant. And a cursory investigation of Jae-hee's cellar would quickly reveal the existence of the books, and then it's game over,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 112015/05/06,
The cliffhanger last time and the cliffhanger this time are for the most part the exact same cliffhanger. "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is having difficulty justifying its running time at this point. Even under the most charitable interpretation by all rights Jae-hee really should have been caught by now. Moo-gak actually manages to catch Jae-hee committing an explicit crime- at the very least there should be probable cause for a warrant. And a cursory investigation of Jae-hee's cellar would quickly reveal the existence of the books, and then it's game over,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 102015/04/30,
The episode starts out somewhat promising- important facts regarding the mystery of Cho-rim's past are established. Moo-gak and Cho-rim continue to look cute together. And there's even a brief little piece where Cho-rim has to use her powers to apprehend a strange man found in a place he should not be. Unfortunately, this is resolved very quickly and abruptly as we get back to the age-old question of what improbable chain of events Jae-hee will use to impede the investigation this time,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 92015/04/29,
Moo-gak and Cho-rim are still cute together. I like how for the entire opening portion of the episode they're holding hands yet are apparently oblivious to this fact. Cho-rim's shocked reaction to Moo-gak's conversational piece later on is equally cute. Unfortunately writ large "The Girl Who Sees Smells" has decided to double down on the serial killer storyline...again. And it's times like this I really wish Moo-gak and Cho-rim could just solve normal mysteries instead. When was the last time we even got to see some smells?,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 82015/04/23,
The focus this time is more completely on the serial murder investigation- unfortunately. Part of the problem with giving Jae-hee improbably effective crime-committing superpowers is that I start to wonder why he doesn't use them more consistently. The man can take advantage of all sorts of information he stumbles across by accident- yet he can't be bothered to remembered how to stab a person in the vitals? Isn't he a chef? Isn't this, like, the one thing he would have an actual logical reason to know?,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 72015/04/22,
The format is mostly the same as last episode. Moo-gak and Cho-rim act cute for a moment, then Jae-hee does sneaky criminal stuff, then Moo-gak and Cho-rim get around to solving the current case of the week and finally, we close out with a dramatic cliffhanger wherein essential information relative to the case is discovered. While consistency is nice, "The Girl Who Sees Smells" continues to be consistent in a somewhat annoying inconsistent way,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 62015/04/16,
We open up with the resolution of the cliffhanger...well, it wasn't really much of a cliffhanger. Just Cho-rim and Moo-gak sitting in a romantic nighttime visage admiring the cherry blossoms. Or so it would seem. I do appreciate how "The Girl Who Sees Smells" has (probably inadvertently acknowledged) the reality of the weather lately. You think cherry blossom season would involve lots of beautiful flowers falling to the ground but no, this of all times everything has to be really muggy and rainy,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 52015/04/15,
Every time I think I've figured out what kind of story "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is trying to tell the script throws me for another loop. At first it just seems like we're doing more character building between Cho-rim and Moo-gak. Then another procedural murder shows up out of nowhere. Then it's a brief break from the procedural murder to get back to having characters examine the backstory in more detail, then we have just enough time left over to explain, in clear detail, how the murder took place,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 42015/04/09,
Well, hm. Several of my assumptions about the last episode have turned out to be incorrect. In the first place Cho-rim really is mad at Moo-gak about what happened at the comedy club- she's just reasonably good at not getting too outrageously angry. I guess I'm just not used to seeing drama heroines exercise self-restraint. Of course, in the real world shame tends to be a better motivator than abuse anyway, which is how the Cho-rim / Moo-gak relationship is able to move forward,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 32015/04/08,
It would appear pretty definite at this point that most of the characters are, in fact, just as incompetent as they look. Take Yeom-mi (played by Yoon Jin-seo). She's the one running this criminal investigation, as far as I can tell, because Yeom-mi is the only character professional enough to actually focus on the facts of the case rather than get involved in petty male bickering. Moo-gak does at least get credit for trying to be professional- his main embarassing moment of goofiness is mostly a result of Moo-gak forgetting that interrogation rooms use two-way mirrors,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 22015/04/02,
Cho-rim and Moo-gak manage to very quickly make really dumb promises to their immediate superiors at work, and are consequently forced to work together in order to solve their problems. As set-ups go "The Girl Who Sees Smells" is rather oddly convoluted. I'd think these two would be more likely to search for help from actual friends rather than a stranger they only just met yesterday but...OK sure? The story might be convoluted but it's not really contrived, and that would be the much worse sin,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Episode 12015/04/01,
Cho-rim (played by Shin Se-kyung) is a girl who ends up having a very bad day. From the start "The Girl Who Sees Smells" doesn't do a lot to get on my good side. I'm really not a big fan of the whole "master criminal who succeeds mainly by dumb luck and no one paying attention to him" trope, and here it's a pretty essential part of the premise. Granted Cho-rim is just a high school girl, but even four years ago Korea had CCTV and they must have been running at least a couple hundred meters,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 162014/10/14,
The mystery is solved in a mostly satisfactory way. Personally, I'd quibble a bit on the issue of exact timing. The main essential element to solving the murders only appeared a few episodes ago with Seong-gyeom's mother. Without her I have a lot of trouble guessing how we were supposed to identify the killer at all, though I can see how Geum-bo managed it. But then there were other reasons why she needed to be held back this long.
The way this drama's been playing it I genuinely thought there was a good chance that Seong-gyeom was going to end up being, if not the murderer, at least sort of involved somehow in a guilty way. But the last few episodes have been kind of weird in that they've pretty much shifted the mystery protagonist viewpoint over to his direction. Well, not really shifted since Sang-hyo has never been much of a lead character in dealing with the mystery in the first place,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 152014/10/13,
There's way more focus than usual on murders and murderous backstories here, mostly because the three leads are in absolutely no mood to discuss romance right now. Of the three Seong-gyeom has the best excuse. There's just so, so much going on his mind right now that being cute with Sang-hyo simply can't cut it any more. Relationship drama becomes a lot less fun once actual drama intrudes.
Weirdly, the best possible argument right now for Sang-hyo and Hae-yeong getting back together is their complete lack of ability to meaningfully engage on this front,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 142014/10/07,
So Hae-yeong finally seems to be making some significant character development. Unfortunately, this character development basically involves him realizing that he's been a bit of a pig about bullying Sang-hyo into keeping up the whole marriage facade, but the marriage facade itself is the only reason these two ever have any reason to spend time together, so of course she has to talk him into keeping it up just a little while longer,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 132014/10/06,
This episode is so heavily wrapped up in the question of Sang-hyo's love triangle it's often difficult to remember that technically there's supposed to be a lot of other stuff going on. The titular hotel itself feels less like an actual important location as it does that place where Sang-hyo goes to work. And also some people died there. Whoever the killer is I rather doubt the revelation will be an impressive one, given how much focus is given to Sang-hyo's wacky comedic antics,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 122014/09/30,
While I can understand why Sang-hyo agreed to Hae-yeong's request, this episode really seems to undercut the recent point of "My Secret Hotel", which is that Hae-yeong has lost out because the sincerity of his emotions can't really override the fact that the guy's basically a selfish jerk. The drama continues to provide a somewhat compelling argument that Sang-hyo probably shouldn't end up together with either of the male leads, given that they have such obvious unresolved issues. Also one or both of the might be murderers.
For the sake of Hae-yeong, there is something of an argument to be made here that he and Sang-hyo can actually get along fairly functionally and effectively if they're working for the pursuance of some greater goal,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 112014/09/29,
The focus is still almost totally on the romance…or is it? After the apparently sincere and emotionally heartfelt cliffhanger (which this episode wisely opens with), for most of the runtime we actually seem to be right back to the same lukewarm Seong-gyeom that we've seen for most of "My Secret Hotel". On top of everything else he spends a lot of time acting in a very suspicious way, and as of yet there's still no satisfactory explanation as to why.
What particularly makes this feel so odd is that a lot of the episode is actually taken from the perspective of He-yeong. Several scenes take place entirely in his imagination, which begs a lot of questions,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 102014/09/23,
This episode is technically just another retread of the love triangle dynamic we've seen throughout the course of most of this drama, but because some definite questions get asked and clear character points are established, this is at least a useful episode for establishing who these characters are right now in the story. Although truth be told it's a pretty simple dynamic- everybody likes Sang-hyo and nobody likes Hae-yeong.
I did almost kind of feel sorry for Hae-yeong this episode. He appears to be at an impasse in regards to his childish behavior,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 92014/09/22, Source,
We finally see Seng-gyom demonstrate some clear emotion here. Whether this is because of love or the whole murder thing's just getting totally out of control is hard to tell. That's part of the trouble with "My Secret Hotel" having, by design, such strong tonal whiplash. Whether or not this is all intentional is more difficult to say. Jumping between honeymoons and murder investigations doesn't exactly leave much middle ground for consideration of what just happened.
Part of the trouble, I think, is Soo-ah. When she ran off with the chauffeur I was fully expecting that it would be several episodes before we saw her again, if ever. Her entire relationship with Hae-yeong has been exposed as being, on multiple levels, an elaborate farce,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 82014/09/16,
Sadly "My Secret Hotel" does not live up to the insane expectations created by the last episode. It's mostly back to business as usual here, though the script does make frequent references to how utterly nutty the last episode's plot developments were. We've got Sang-hyo frequently asking whether it was all just a dream. I don't generally like when dramas point out their own absurdities like this but in this case it's warranted,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 72014/09/15,
There are almost no murder mystery elements at all in "My Secret Hotel" this episode as the romantic tribulations take on full focus. Now, so far the romantic aspects of this drama have not impressed me very much. Mostly it's because they seemed a little overwrought, not to mention mildly creepy in the context of the situation. But this time, "My Secret Hotel" takes all of these various loveliness to their obviously insane conclusions, and I'm still kind of aghast that the drama had the guts to take the story in such a ridiculous direction.
This is full on satire about modern wedding culture and its relationship to romance,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 62014/09/02,
The main focus this time is on Sang-hyo's love life, as every other plot point takes a backseat. For a drama that's mostly interesting from an intellectual perspective, this is not a good thing. I can understand why her relationship with Hae-yeong didn't work out, and how it was in a weird place, but that only makes the way everybody acts nostalgic about it here all the more perplexing. There wasn't really that much to be nostalgic about.
This might be a silly thing to admit, I know, but I was actually kind of hoping this drama would show us more of the ins and outs of actual wedding planning. There's been lots of murderous scheming and screwball chases over alleged romantic liasons, even plenty of discussion about the way hotels can be affected by bad public relations,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 52014/09/01,
We appear to have solved the mystery of why Hae-yeong is together with Soo-ah. No, it's not because she demonstrates any kind of positive character traits this episode. It's because Hae-yeong clearly enjoys being chased around. This is a bit of a non-intuitive thing to realize here, given that he frequently acts agitated and annoyed every time a woman comes after him, but it becomes rather obvious when Hae-yeong finally gets a moment to himself that he really does kind of get off on being suddenly waylaid by a woman begging him for something.
This episode gives a very clear sense of why Sang-hyo and Hae-yeong broke up. I don't just mean the flashback, although that's a good demonstration of the basic weirdness of their relationship,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 42014/08/26,
Geum-bo has rapidly become my favorite character in this drama. He doesn't bother with any old tired hardboiled detective nonsense. Geum-bo investigates crimes because of his natural curiousity about the greater world. He doesn't even pretend like all of his questions are actually related to the investigation. This also make him a great source of exposition, as we get access to personal character clues that in most mysteries wouldn't get exposed until near the end.
Now, part of this is due to the unusual way "My Secret Hotel" is structured in the first place. Technically it's a mystery, but our main characters are suspects, not investigators. This makes for an odd sort of narrative storytelling where the plot is only really advanced when Geum-bo is on screen, and he's a relatively minor character,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 32014/08/25,
...And it's right back to the present, where we're stuck with the aftershock of murder. On first glance the two episode flashback doesn't seem to have accomplished that much. We really don't know all that much about the main characters. This is at least partially by design, since for all we know Sang-hyo and Hae-yeong were responsible for the killing. About the only character we can clear as a suspect right now is Soo-ah, because she's the only person publically upset about the fact that a dead man fell from the ceiling into the wedding reception.
This is why the first two episodes are important, looking in retrospect. Remember how everyone was completely stoic and unreacting in the face of an obviously upset Sang-hyo? They're displaying the exact same lack of emotion now that there's a murder investigation going on,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 22014/08/19,
Well, we've finally got a good hook on what's motivating Hae-yeong- petty spite. This episode makes it clear that the guy doesn't even particularly like his girlfriend that much. Soo-ah (played by Lee Young-eun) is the very definition of fun, playful, and happy. And Hae-yeong refuses to notice unless she literally throws it in his face. And even then he just awkwardly turns away. It's obvious that he's only doing this marriage thing to watch Sang-hyo squirm.
"My Secret Hotel" actually comes up with a pretty good justification why the drama started two weeks ahead in the first and went into flashback here,...More

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "My Secret Hotel" Episode 12014/08/18,
Hae-gyeong (played by Jin I-han) is getting married. But he doesn't seem terribly enthusiastic about it. Sang-hyo (played by Yoo In-na) is a wedding manager who takes the news personally, although in the present day she seems to be all right with what's going on. Also there's a dead body involved all of this somehow. "My Secret Hotel" doesn't appear to be in any hurry to tell us what that's all about.
There's all of the elements necessary here to make "My Secret Hotel"...well...something. Unfortunately having watched the first episode I'm mostly just perplexed as to how many clearly defined concepts could come off so blandly,...More

Cheongdam-dong Alice: Episode 1 Recap2012/12/03, Source,
by: Raine
Lookie, lookie, lookie! It's finally here! Episode 1 recap
A montage of the development of fashion in other countries flashes by as CEO of luxury brand Artemis, Cha Seung-jo (Park Si-hoo), explains that women always value in other countries. What about in Korea?
The women of Korea buy brand names. It's Seung-jo's theory that what distinguishes women is not just brand names, but the most expensive items on the market. In order to look more successful than everyone else, they will do anything to buy luxury items. But that's cool, since that's how Artemis rolls. So let the prices keep going up!,...More

The movie's promotion company said July 19 that "A Dirty Carnival", which opened June 15 just in time for the World Cup fervor, ha,...More

Jo In-sung Is Back in 'Dirty Carnival'2006/06/16, Source, It is the dream of Byung-du aka "Number 3" (Jo In-sung), always ignored at the Rotary gang, to find a sponsor with plenty of cash and tidy up his failed life. When his higher-up in the organization declines the order of wealthy businessman Hwang,...More

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Namgoong Min (남궁민)

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